Stevenage Player Barry Hayles

Barry Hayles

Forward

Date Of Birth:

17/05/1972

Place Of Birth:

Lambeth

Previous Club(s):

Willesden Hawkeye

Later Club(s):

Bristol Rovers (1997)Fulham (1998)Sheffield United (2004)Millwall (2004)Plymouth Argyle (2006)Leicester City (2008)Cheltenham Town (2009)Truro City (2010)St Albans City (2012)Arlesey Town (2013)Truro City (2014)Chesham United (2015)Windsor (2017)

Regarded as one of the greatest Boro' players - certainly during the 1990s, Barry Hayles joined Stevenage Borough from the fairly humble surroundings of Willesden Hawkeye after being spotted by Paul Fairclough.

His arrival at Broadhall Way started a prolific three-year goalscoring spree that saw the striker net a goal for every two starts he made. A key member of the 1995/6 Conference-winning team, Hayles regularly topped the goalscorer charts in the top tier of non-league football.

It seemed like there could be little doubt he was destined for bigger and better things. Boro's failure to gain promotion in the year after being denied due to ground irregularities effectively forced Hayles' hand and he moved onto Bristol Rovers.

One year later, Fulham called and Hayles moved on. And it wasn't to be long before the striker found himself in the Premier League courtesy of the Cottagers' remarkable rise up the divisions. A six-year spell at Craven Cottage came to an end in 2004 - not that it ended his League career.

A switch to Sheffield United preceded a move to Millwall. Plymouth Argyle was his next port of call, spending two years in the South West and continuing to find the net at Championship level. It was enough to earn the interest of Leicester City, but his career was now past its peak.

The next move was downwards to Cheltenham Town before being released in 2010. Despite reported interest in bringing Hayles back to Boro', the return is still to be realised...

Aside from his club career, Hayles was no stranger to the England C squad. He was first capped in 1994 in a fixture against Scottish counterparts, before going on to appear again shortly before his move to Bristol Rovers in a side that also included Lee Hughes.